Man charged in deaths of Katy parents to plead not guilty

Updated 7:12 pm, Friday, August 8, 2014

Photo: Fort Bend County Sheriff's Offic

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At 5:15 p.m. Thursday, May 29, 2014, Michael Robert Walton and his wife, Lynda Renee Walton, were found murdered at their residence in the 24900 block of North Pointe Place in the Lake Pointe Estates subdivision. Just before noon Saturday, May 31, 2014, the vehicle Ryan Walton had taken from his parents' home Thursday night was spotted by Sheriff's Office personnel at FM 762 and U.S. 59 in the Rosenberg area. Ryan Walton faces two charges of Murder and is being held in the Fort Bend County Jail without bond, which was set by Judge Ruiz. less

At 5:15 p.m. Thursday, May 29, 2014, Michael Robert Walton and his wife, Lynda Renee Walton, were found murdered at their residence in the 24900 block of North Pointe Place in the Lake Pointe Estates ... more

Photo: Fort Bend County Sheriff's Offic

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Iron gates and a guard post mark the entrance to Katy's Lake Pointe Estates, where two people were found dead Thursday evening.

Iron gates and a guard post mark the entrance to Katy's Lake Pointe Estates, where two people were found dead Thursday evening.

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

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The Walton home, seen from the water at Lake Pointe Estates, was equipped with security cameras but authorities do not know if they were operational.

The Walton home, seen from the water at Lake Pointe Estates, was equipped with security cameras but authorities do not know if they were operational.

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle

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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle

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Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls speaks at a press conference Friday following a double homicide that took place in the Lake Pointe Estates Subdivision in Fort Bend County on Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Photo: Cody Duty / Houston Chronicle

Man charged in deaths of Katy parents to plead not guilty

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The 21-year-old man charged with murdering his parents at their estate home in Katy will plead not guilty, his attorney told a judge on Friday.

Ryan Robert Walton, who was formally arraigned in a Richmond courtroom, listened as Assistant District Attorney Alex Foley read the findings of grand jurors who had indicted him on capital murder charges in the shooting deaths 2½ months ago.

It was the first time Walton has appeared publicly since sheriff's deputies arrested him on May 31 outside of a burger joint in Rosenberg, days after the bodies of his parents were found in their home in the The Lake Pointe Estates. Authorities said then that Michael Robert Walton and Lynda Renee Walton, 54 and 52, had been shot to death with a small-caliber firearm.

Walton stood mute during the minutes-long proceeding. Cary Faden, his court-appointed lawyer, told state District Judge James H. Shoemake that Walton would be pleading not guilty.

He faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of capital murder charges.

After the hearing, Faden declined to discuss the case or how Walton has fared since his arrest.

Michael and Lynda Walton had last been seen by their 18-year-old daughter at their home in the 24000 block of North Pointe Place on May 29. One of Walton's brothers found their bodies later that day.

Investigators tied Walton to their deaths after discovering that he had not been living at the home for several weeks but found surveillance footage of him leaving the house the day of the shootings in his mother's dark blue 2006 BMW. Walton had been driving the car when investigators arrested him, and they also found a rifle after searching the car.

More than a dozen friends and relatives attended the hearing, among them his grandparents and three siblings - Derek, Shelby and Donnie. They did not speak to reporters.

Walton's next court date will be Nov. 7, while Faden and prosecutors deal with procedural motions and the evidence to be presented at his trial.